Car Wreck
by AnyaLehnsherr
Summary: Rachel is a telepath girl who joined Magneto's Brotherhood about two months ago. Takes place some time between X2 and Last Stand. High T rating for disturbing nature in chapter one. This is my first story with an OC, so please review even if it's negative.
1. Monster

**Warnings: This story focuses on Erik's experiences in Auschwitz. It's not graphic, but some of those experiences include the beating of a child, the implied sexual abuse of a child, and the torture of a child. It's dark. **

Rachel had heard it said that when there's an awful car wreck, it's hard to look away even when you want to. That's how she felt about reading Magneto's mind. Well, it's how she felt about exploring his memories. She had joined his Brotherhood about two months ago, and she still looked through his memories whenever she got the chance. She had to be careful. He couldn't be conscious of her presence in his mind, especially not in his memories.

"My dear, a beautiful goddess like you shouldn't need to see such horrors," he had told her.

Rachel knew the real reason was the agony those memories caused him, but she agreed on some level. She was horrified by the things she had seen in his mind. She felt sick when she looked at what had been done to him. But at the same time she was fascinated. She felt terribly guilty over this. What kind of person could be drawn to such horrors? She couldn't stop herself. She looked through his mind whenever she could. She saw everything: Auschwitz, the guards, the gas chambers, the ovens, the dead, the prisoners, everything. She looked through every detail over and over.

She saw Erik and his mother standing in line and then being separated. She saw a man tattoo a number on Erik's arm. She saw Erik running naked past the guards and being beaten when he tripped. She heard a guard tell Erik to follow him. She saw Erik standing in front of a doctor in an office. She saw the room next to the office. There was a metal table in the middle and lots of medical instruments, some of which looked more like torture devices. She saw the doctor shoot Erik's mother. She saw Erik being tied down on the table. She saw the doctor carving into Erik's young flesh. She saw the doctor torture the child in ways she couldn't describe, other than with the words "sick and twisted." She heard Erik screaming in pain and begging for the torture to stop. Rachel was both thankful and filled with regret that she had taken German in high school. Part of her liked knowing exactly what was being said, but the rest of her was disgusted even further.

She saw what happened to Erik when he wasn't with the doctor, when he was with the other prisoners. She saw him in front of the guards as they made their selections and felt Erik's terror, worrying he would be next every time. She saw him being forced to move bodies from the gas chambers to the ovens. She heard the guards bribing him with chocolate for finding things when he looted the bodies. She sensed how much he hated looting the bodies, how much it disturbed him. But she sensed that he was terrified the guards would kill him if he didn't. She saw one particularly sick guard offering Erik food in return for "pleasing" him. She felt Erik's self-loathing for giving in. He had been so hungry he had to give in.

She saw these things and felt disgusted. She couldn't comprehend how the guards could do such horrible things. Then she realized that's what fascinated her. She had been inside so many minds and seen so many horrible things. It took a lot to faze her at this point. She still hated evil things that hurt others, but she had seen almost everything before. What she saw in Erik's head was new to her. It provided a puzzle. A dark and twisted puzzle, trying to piece together what the Nazis had been thinking.

She also felt a weird sense of relief. There were still things out there that could faze her. She was still capable of being disgusted. Though she felt like a monster for looking through Erik's memories, she also felt like she was still truly human, still bothered by evil and suffering.


	2. Psyche

**Author's note: Italics are a memory**

Rachel woke up from another nightmare. It wasn't hers. Her mind had entered Magneto's. He was having another nightmare about the camps. She could hardly tell where her horror stopped and his terror began. Her throat hurt, meaning she had been screaming in her sleep. She hoped she hadn't woken anyone, but she knew that was unlikely. She was sharing a room with an annoyed Mystique who was still used to her own room. She looked over and, sure enough, Mystique was awake.

"You were screaming in your sleep again."

"Sorry. Nightmare."

"I was assuming so. Most people don't scream in their sleep when they dream of puppies and rainbows."

Rachel sighed. She was getting used to Mystique's cold nature, but it didn't mean she liked it. She missed Xavier's school. She always had people to talk to there. Most people thought Rachel was closed-off, but the people who truly knew her knew she just didn't like small talk. She liked to talk to people about life, not the weather or a football game.

Especially not football. Not anymore. It reminded her too much of home. Her whole town was obsessed with football, especially her brothers. She missed her brothers so much. She constantly wondered about them. Had her oldest brother Joshua found a girlfriend yet? What college had her other brother James chosen? He would have just graduated high school. What about her sister Danielle? How was she liking high school? This would be her freshman year. She missed her family so much. But she couldn't go back. It wouldn't be fair to them. They were harassed so much when the town found out she was a mutant. Would they even want her back? They still loved her when they found out she was a mutant. Her parents seemed to think it was unfortunate, but they still loved her. Joshua and James didn't care either way. Danielle thought it was the coolest thing in the world.

"_I can't believe how lucky you are, Rach! I wish I were a mutant!"_

"_Maybe you are, Dani. Just because I got my powers at 11 doesn't mean everyone does."_

"_Wait, you've had your powers for two years and you're just telling us now?"_

"_I didn't know my little sister would want me reading her mind."_

"_Wait, you're a mind reader? You just said you're a mutant. You didn't say you had the coolest power of them all! Tell me, Rach, what am I thinking right now?"_

"_Dani, have I ever needed my powers to know exactly what you're thinking?"_

"_Come on. Just do it!"_

_Rachel entered her little sister's mind. She found a question on the front of Danielle's mind that she had been avoiding._

"_No, I haven't told Mark yet."_

"_You haven't? Are you crazy? He'll love you so much now!"_

"_He already loves me. We told each other we love each other like boyfriend and girlfriend yesterday."_

"_Shut up! No way!"_

"_Yes way! Of course we do! We've only been dating for like three months!"_

"_So much good news in one day! You see! You can tell Mark. Even if he's stupid and thinks mutants are a problem, he'll still love you!" _

"_You think so?"_

"_DUH! Usually you're the smart one, Rach, but right now I think I'm right."_

That conversation had occurred three years ago, but Rachel still remembered it. She missed Danielle so much. She missed her parents, Joshua, and James, but she missed Danielle the most. She even missed Mark, the reason she had to run. She hadn't seen him in two years, but she still thought about him. They had only been kids, but they thought they would get married. Of course, Rachel was smarter now. She knew it was unlikely to marry the boy you date at thirteen. But she didn't think it should have ended like that.

Mystique noticed the tear on Rachel's cheek. She knew newcomers were often a flight risk. She had to talk to the girl to make sure she wasn't thinking of running, or worse, going back to Xavier's school with information on the Brotherhood.

"Look, I used to share a room with Erik. At one point it was just the two of us. He wouldn't want me telling you this, but he has a lot of nightmares. So, if you want to talk about it, I'm good at listening to people talk about their nightmares."

"I know."

"What?"

"I know Magneto has nightmares. I've been in his mind."

"You read his mind without telling him? He'd kill you."

"And he'd kill you for talking about him like this."

Mystique smiled. This girl might just be a kid, but she knew how to work people.

"I knew I liked you for a reason."

"I didn't know you liked me."

"What were you expecting from me? To throw you a parade for you for existing? Maybe you're still a little too used to Xavier's school for touchy-feely nonsense."

"Normal people tell people that they like them. Or at least give some indication of it in their behavior."

"You and I have very different experiences with normal people, then."

"Or maybe we have different definitions of normalcy."

"Whatever. I don't argue with kids. If you remember, I initially extended the invitation to talk about your nightmare."

"Forget it. It wasn't even mine. It was Magneto's. It's harder for me to control my telepathy in my sleep."

"Whatever. I just noticed the tear on your cheek and figured you'd want to talk."

Rachel reflexively wiped her cheeks with her hands. She didn't like that Mystique had seen her cry. It wasn't how much she missed her family, even though she did. She was used to missing them by now. What she couldn't get used to was the fact that she could never go back. She would never stop missing them.

"I was thinking about my family."

"Everyone here had a crappy family, other than Erik. You're in good company."

"I know. But I had a good family."

"Ugh. You're one of those. That's worse, you know. The rest of us here have nothing to lose."

"It doesn't matter. I can't go back anyway."

"They're not too fond of mutants, are they?"

"They didn't really care. They didn't get it, but they still loved me. It was my town that I had to flee."

"How'd the whole town figure out?"

"I'm from a small town. Once the word got out in my school, it didn't take long before the whole town knew."

"Let me guess. You told a friend you thought you could trust, and they told the whole school. Half of all mutants have gone through similar."

"No. I told my boyfriend Mark. He dumped me. He promised me he wouldn't tell anyone, but his friend Seth pulled the answer out of him. Seth told the whole school. Then they told the teachers. I was kicked out. They said there was no way to prove a telepath wasn't cheating on tests. To his credit, Mark stood up for me, telling people I would never use my power to cheat."

"Did you?"

"No. Anyway, the people in our town started harassing my family. It got bad. I could handle it, but I didn't want to force that on my parents or siblings. I ran away. I heard about Xavier's school and made my way there. I left soon after Pyro did."

"You found us fast. There were only a few months between Pyro joining and you coming here."

"It was easy once I decided to leave. I had been inside Pyro's mind a lot. I traced him."

"What made you decide to leave? Got annoyed by that Rogue girl? I wouldn't blame you for that."

Rachel smiled at that. She had tolerated Rogue because she was friends with Bobby, but she had never really cared for her. Everyone had complications in their lives because of their mutations. It didn't mean you had to mope about it.

"They don't really get anything done. It's a fine place for young mutants, but it's pathetic that people stay there after they're old enough to protect themselves. They don't get that extreme injustices require extreme action."

Mystique smiled. A lot of young newcomers were just in the Brotherhood for the rush of it. This girl actually understood their work.

"Go back to sleep, Rachel. There's no point in exhausting yourself."

"Psyche."

"What?"

"My name is Psyche now."


	3. Breakfast

Rachel woke up the next morning rather tired. Magneto's nightmares had only worsened as the night progressed, so she hadn't slept well. She walked to the kitchen hoping to find some coffee and something to eat. She saw John and Mystique were already there.

"Morning, Rach."

Ugh. She had told John not to call her Rach. Danielle was the only one who could call her that. Somehow that made John call her it more. Though she learned to not respond to it, it still bugged her. That said, it was nice having someone she knew in the Brotherhood. Other than that habit, the two of them generally got along quite well. Rachel had been quite good friends with Bobby and John. Well, Bobby at least. Bobby and John had sort of been a package deal. They were best friends, so if you wanted to be friends with Bobby, you had to be friends with John. The same was true for Rogue. Rachel thought that was likely the only reason Rogue had friends. Rachel and John never talked about it, but they both missed their friends at the mansion. It didn't need to be said between them.

"Morning, John."

"We don't use our slave names here," Mystique corrected.

"Rachel doesn't have a mutant name."

"Psyche. I decided last night. It's Psyche."

"See? Now you can call Psyche by her real name, Pyro," Mystique said with emphasis on their names.

"Mystique, you're such a hypocrite," John began, "You call Magneto by his real name all the time."

"Magneto is his real name."

"Then why do you call him Erik?"

"John, I mean, Pyro, let it go." Rachel sensed Mystique wouldn't like being questioned about that. Even without her telepathy, she thought it was pretty obvious Mystique and Magneto have feelings for each other. Perhaps it was the fact that it looked like there was a significant age difference that threw Pyro off. Mystique looked a lot younger than Magneto, despite only being thirteen years younger than the man. Or maybe it was just that Pyro was, frankly, not the sharpest crayon in the box.

"You really want me to call you Psyche?"

Rachel paused for a moment. This was making it official: she was accepting not only the fact that she was a mutant, but the fact that she had joined the Brotherhood and wasn't going back. But none of that was anything to be ashamed of. It's who she is and what she stands for.

"Yeah. It's my name now. You want to be called Pyro?"

Truth be told, Pyro had never really decided which name he liked better. A lot of the kids at the mansion had mutant names, so he came up with Pyro. He definitely saw the point of having a mutant name. It showed off his mutant pride and told the world he is who he is and he's not hiding. It set him apart from the _Homo sapiens_. He was definitely more proud of being a mutant than he was of being the son of his parents. His parents weren't exactly the kind of people one was proud of. On the other hand, however, it was a constant reminder that he couldn't go back. He figured that was probably the idea. That was probably why Mystique insisted on the use of their mutant names. She wanted to remind them turning back wasn't an option. It wasn't like the reminder was needed. He knew he couldn't go back. He didn't really want to. He mentally reprimanded himself for being pathetic. It wasn't that he hadn't decided if he supported Magneto. He had. He had never liked Xavier's philosophy of nonviolence. He just didn't want to fight against his friends. He knew that was pathetic. But, though he had never and would never say it out loud, he loved and missed his friends, especially Bobby. He had never said it out loud. He hadn't wanted Bobby to take it the wrong way or anything like that. But he loved him. Not in _that_ way, but as his friend. He viewed Bobby as more than a friend. He was his brother. Not that he'd admit that. But now he had to show his loyalty to the Brotherhood. His new brothers and sisters. He didn't want to be on Mystique's bad side anyway.

"Yeah."

"Good. No one's going to use anyone's slave name around here anymore, right?"

Mystique had asked it as a question, but the tone in her voice suggested it was something of a dare. It was as if she said "I dare you to call each other 'Rachel' and 'Pyro' again."

"No." Pyro and Psyche said together. Mystique left the room. Rachel made herself some coffee while Pyro poured the two of them cereal. They didn't have much else there. Pyro was sick of it, and sick of the silence.

"You annoyed that all we ever have is cereal? And we never have any different kinds. I mean, I know we're not as rich as Xavier, but come on."

"I hadn't really thought about it."

"Maybe I can hint about that to Magneto."

"I wouldn't."

"Why not? Don't you want different cereal around here?"

"You do know he was in Auschwitz as a kid, right? He had to choose between starving to death or..."

Rachel caught herself. She knew Magneto wouldn't appreciate her telling the details of what had happened to him to Pyro. He wouldn't appreciate the fact that she knew either. She wasn't supposed to know all the details. He hadn't wanted her to read that part of his mind. He especially wouldn't want her to tell Pyro about it. She was just annoyed with Pyro right now. It wasn't his fault. He wasn't doing anything particularly annoying. She did feel a little ridiculous. She wasn't the one who had lived through a concentration camp. If anyone in the Brotherhood had the right to be offended or annoyed by a teenager complaining about being bored with the breakfast cereal, it wasn't her, it was Magneto. Sometimes her telepathy had that curse: she empathized with others a bit too much.

"Or? Or what?"

"Never mind."

"Come on. You brought it up."

"Why do you want to know?"

"Probably the same reason you looked through his head to find out. I'm curious."

"The guards forced him to loot the bodies of the dead prisoners. They gave him chocolate if he found anything they wanted. And there was one guard, some sadistic pervert, would give him food in return for...you know."

Pyro was disgusted. "Please tell me you don't mean what I think you mean."

"Yeah."

"Wasn't he, like, a kid then?"

The two of them had been so wrapped up in their thoughts that neither of them noticed the footsteps behind them.

"I was twelve. Good morning."


	4. Magnificent

It was the most awkward silence Rachel had ever experienced. She didn't know how long the silence lasted. It couldn't have been more than thirty seconds. It was likely it had only been about ten seconds. She didn't know. To her, it felt like an eternity had passed.

"_Come on, Rachel. Say something. Say anything. Apologize. Ok. How do I do this? Do I apologize for reading his mind without permission, or do I skip that and just apologize for talking about him behind his back? This is what I get for gossiping. Oh man, I bet he's ticked."_

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you to overhear that."

"You just meant to talk about me behind my back?" Erik asked, unimpressed with her apology.

"No. I just got carried away. I'm sorry."

"It was my fault. I pressed her."

Rachel shot a smile at John and mouthed the words "Thank you." He didn't have to stick up for her, and, frankly, she wouldn't have expected him to.

Erik sighed. This hadn't been the first time he had experienced the curiosity of others regarding his childhood. It seemed to be especially common with young people. He knew he would never understand it. Why would people want to talk about or think about something so terrible? It was obviously important to know about. He thought if all mutants truly understood what had happened, they would all understand the necessity of fighting. They would know he was right. They would recognize the signs of genocide around them. They would be ready to protect themselves. He wanted mutants to understand that. But he would never understand the curiosity. He took a deep breath. These conversations were always hard on him. And he couldn't afford to have the children to know how hard it would be on him.

"It's alright. It's not something I like to talk about, but it is important to understand. I trust Charles taught you about the camps in your history classes."

"Of course. I swear Rachel only told me what you overheard. I pressed her. Please tell me she was messing with me. Please tell me you weren't...you know."

"Sadly, she was telling the truth."

"I'm so sorry. That's just messed up."

"Everything about those camps was messed up, to use your phrase, more than you could possibly imagine. You children shouldn't have to think about those things."

"We're not children. She's sixteen, I'm seventeen."

Erik let out a little laugh. "You'll forgive me. At my age, you think everyone under the age of 25 is a child. Regardless, you both should understand my goals. My main goal in life is to do whatever it takes to make sure mutants never have to experience what I did when I was a boy. No one should experience anything like that ever again. Which is why, while I don't want you to forget it, I don't think you should have to think about the depths of the horrors that occurred. You should be protected from even thinking about such things. Do you two understand that?"

"Yeah," John and Rachel said simultaneously.

"Good. Now, Pyro, will you excuse the two of us? I would like to speak to Rachel privately."

Rachel was hit with fear and guilt. She should have known Erik wouldn't let her off that easily. John glanced at Rachel and mouthed the words "Good luck" at her before leaving.

"I'm sorry, Magneto. I know I shouldn't have been talking about you behind your back."

"I also requested that you not read that specific part of my mind. Do you know why I requested that?"

"Because it's none of my business?"

"You're a telepath, my dear. Your mutation makes everything your business, and that's beautiful."

"So, it's because it's so painful for you to remember?"

"Yes and no. It is extremely painful to remember those things. But it's more than that. Rachel, do you know what the key to any victory is?"

"No."

"The key to any victory is to know your enemy's weaknesses. Everyone has a weakness, Rachel. You have discovered mine."

"How is it a weakness that you survived Auschwitz? The way I see it, it took great strength to survive something like that."

"It was more luck than strength."

"But it made you stronger. I don't see it as a weakness."

"In some ways you're right. After all, I learned to use my powers there. I learned survival there. So, in those ways, it made me strong. But it's also my greatest weakness. It's not the pain that makes me hesitant to allow you in my mind. It's the effects that pain has on me. If you're anything like Charles, I'm sure you've seen my nightmares, have you not?"

"I have. I can't control it at night. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. Your powers are magnificent. But then you know what power those memories have over me. You know how fear still grips me, how pain still torments me. You're a smart girl, Rachel. You could figure out how to use that to your advantage."

"I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't do anything like that to anyone."

"It seems you share a weakness with Charles: an unwillingness to sacrifice your principles. There will come a time when it may be necessary to sacrifice your principles, my dear."

"Torturing a person with their worst memories?"

"If that became necessary, I would encourage you to do so. But there's more you could do than pure torture. Manipulation, confusion, suggestion, the possibilities are endless."

"Well, it's moot anyway. You're not my enemy. I wouldn't use that against you."

"I trust a girl like you wouldn't. But I can't have the members of my Brotherhood knowing my weaknesses."

"Understood. It won't happen again. I'm sorry. But I don't think you have to worry about Pyro. He's cool. And I sensed he was too disturbed by the little I told him to think about it too much. He doesn't like to think about stuff like that. Whenever he thinks about something unpleasant, he distracts himself pretty quickly."

Erik smiled. "I love working with a telepath. You can find anyone's weakness without even trying. It's the key to any victory, and you have it written in your genes. Magnificent, my dear."


	5. Manipulation

**Author's note: I'm so sorry it's been so long since I updated last. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. I will try to update more regularly in the future. Enjoy!**

Rachel couldn't believe it. Magneto was smiling at her. He wasn't furious with her for reading his mind or talking about him behind his back. He was admiring her for her power.

"You mean I'm not in trouble?"

"Excuse me?"

"You're not punishing me for reading your mind or telling Pyro what he wanted to know?"

"This isn't a school, Rachel. We don't punish anyone here. I discovered a long time ago it's useless to try to hide the details of my past from a telepath. And anyone who had good history classes in school could guess at those details upon seeing the tattoo on my arm."

Rachel nodded. She wanted to thank Magneto for not punishing her, but she couldn't think of a way of saying it that didn't sound stupid. Magneto interrupted her train of thought by continuing talking.

"Now I'm the curious one, Rachel."

"Curious?"

"Yes. The horrid events in my childhood do seem to create quite a bit of curiosity, but I've never known people to discuss that, or any other part of history for that matter, over breakfast. What led to you and Pyro discussing it?"

"Why does that matter?"

"As I just told you, I like to be in control of who knows about that chapter of my life. That's another lesson to learn, Rachel. You can learn to use your greatest weakness to your advantage. You pointed out you consider it a strength of mine that I survived the horrors of Auschwitz."

"It is. I don't care what you say. It is."

"Yes, well, that's kind of you. It seems many people agree with you."

"You said it yourself, there are definite ways in which you know we're right to say that. You became stronger."

"Yes, I did. But that's not even what I meant when I said you can use a weakness to your advantage. I show people the number tattooed on my arm and I let them pity me. I used to despise pity. I still do, but that doesn't mean I can't use it to my advantage. Pity, curiosity, and a certain respect tend to come to people's minds when I reveal I was a prisoner in the Nazis' camps. I can hold an audience captive and move their emotions by telling them of my past, even if, almost especially if, I leave out the details. It's better that way. I don't have to show how weak those memories still make me."

Rachel didn't know how to feel about this. Was everything he said just a manipulation technique? No. It couldn't be. She had read his mind. She had sensed his pain, if only just a fraction of it. She knew he honestly believed the things he told people. He genuinely believed something like the Holocaust could happen to mutants. Rachel herself knew _something_ would happen to mutants if they didn't act, even if it weren't to that scale. Of course, Magneto was well-spoken and knew how to phrase things in a way that achieved results. She knew that. But could she accept working with a man who would manipulate people by using something so horrific? She knew the existence of the Brotherhood depended on Magneto's abilities as essentially a salesman, selling his idea rather than a product. But why use that method? Erik knew the question on her mind and continued talking to try to answer it.

"I know what you're thinking. How could I use something so terrible to my own advantage? I know it sounds horrible. But it's what I must do. I swore to myself that I would not let myself survive in vain. I would use my life for something good. So many lives were ended too soon. I felt unworthy of survival. I wondered why I was allowed to survive when so many people died. So many good people who had given the world something beautiful died. So many children died before being able to give the world anything. And yet I lived. I swore I would do something worthwhile with my survival. I would use it for something worthwhile. Now I have the chance to not only do something with my life, but also make sure no one in the camps died in vain. I can use the story of their deaths and memory of their lives to further my cause to ensure mutants will not suffer the same fate. It's the least I can do for them. So, while it may sound manipulative, and it fills me with pain and even disgust to do it, it is something I must do. Do you understand?"

Rachel took a moment to think. She scanned his mind to see if he was being honest, which he was.

"Yes."

"Good. Well, anyway, back to my original question. What led to you and Pyro discussing my past in Auschwitz?"

"We weren't really discussing anything. Just chatting and I slipped up. I just got a little annoyed. I guess that's kind of my weakness. I'm too sensitive."

"A common side effect of telepathy. At least you recognize it's a weakness."

"I guess. Anyway, Pyro was complaining about the cereal we keep here. I guess how much that irritates you rubbed off on me. I've been inside your mind and I've seen how bad the starvation was in Auschwitz, and it irritates me that other people don't know how lucky they are. It rubbed off on me from being in your mind or something."

Erik was silent for a moment. Rachel was right. That was something that bothered him. He knew it shouldn't. He knew that no one would understand what it had been like to suffer through those things unless they had also been there. He couldn't fault Pyro or anyone else for not knowing how fortunate they were to know nothing of starvation or the horrid choices he had been forced into in order to survive. In a way, though, it made him happy to realize most mutants had had such pleasant lives that they could complain about something as trivial as cereal.

"That's actually my goal for mutantkind: that no mutant should have to know suffering. That every mutant will have such easy lives that they will be able to take living without persecution, from a lower species no less, for granted. Do you understand that, Rachel?"

"Psyche. I decided last night. I'll go by Psyche now."

"Beautiful. How did you decide that?"

"Well, it seemed like a good name for a telepath. You like it?"

"Of course. But that wasn't what I meant. How did you decide to stop going by your human name?"

"Human name? Don't you call them slave names?"

"Only Mystique uses that term. My mother named me Erik, and I'm sure your mother named you Rachel."

"Then why does everyone here call each other by their mutant names? You even use the term 'real name' to refer to mutant names."

"Well, I believe we should be proud of who we really are. I know you are. And it's more than that. Most mutants, especially mutants who come here, want to separate themselves from their human identity. It's a reminder of who we really are. That said, if who you really are is Rachel, that's fine."

"Psyche, then. Who I really am is Psyche. I'm not a human. I'm a mutant. That's who I really am."

"As long as you're sure. Rachel is a beautiful name. There's no shame in keeping it. I will respect your wishes, of course. Psyche is a lovely name for a telepath, and you are such an exquisite creature, it would be wonderful to show that off to the world. To own it."


	6. Power

"Psyche," Erik began "please find Pyro. I'd like to talk to him."

"If it's about the cereal, it's really no big deal. He doesn't really care. I think he was mostly just making conversation."

"It's not about the cereal, Psyche. Like I said, this isn't a school. You're not in trouble. He's not in trouble. As I explained to you, people knowing my past can either be to my advantage or to my disadvantage. I'd prefer to keep it as an advantage."

Rachel nodded and left to go find Pyro. He was in his room.

"You alright, Psyche? Was he angry?"

"I wouldn't say he was _angry. _He was bothered. He doesn't like remembering all that stuff."

"Can't blame him for that."

"Yeah. Well, he wants to talk to you."

"Wait, why? Did you tell him I complained about the cereal?"

"Relax. You're not in trouble. And he says it's not about the cereal. You just might be in for a bit of a lecture."

"Isn't that what being in trouble is? I thought leaving Xavier meant no more stupid lectures."

"No more _stupid _lectures doesn't mean no more lectures," Rachel said with a smile.

"Only a nerd like you likes lectures."

Rachel sighed. He had always called her a nerd while in school. He was only joking, but she didn't like it. They got along fine, but they didn't always understand each other. She always wanted to learn different perspectives and ways of thinking. Even if she disagreed with a person, she still wanted to hear their point of view. It made a lot of sense to her that she was a telepath. Pyro was different. He only really cared about his own opinion. Manipulating fire was the perfect power for him, too. He acted too much on impulse and emotion, and could be hot headed.

Rachel had always wondered if someone's power could affect their personality. The reverse was true to an extent. Your mood affected your strength. Xavier had taught them that. Erik had told them about finding the place "between rage and serenity." Pyro said it sounded like the same mumbo jumbo Xavier would talk about, but Rachel always figured it must work. Whether you were on his side or not, you had to admit Magneto was powerful, so whatever technique he used to focus his energy clearly worked. Whatever it was, it was undeniable that mood affects power. But was it plausible that powers can affect the personality of the mutant who has them? Rachel didn't see how this would happen, but it seemed like it was true.

Erik had the most charismatic personality of anyone she had ever met. He drew people to listen to him like a magnet. Professor Xavier was sympathetic and smart, both common traits for telepaths. Mystique was good at pretending to be something she wasn't, a necessary skill for using her ability. Rachel knew her telepathy had made her more sympathetic and willing to see both sides of an argument. She figured if more students at Xavier's school were telepaths, Magneto would have more recruits. If people were more willing to look past his reputation, Rachel believed they would see he was right. Between Magneto's followers and Xavier's, only Magneto wanted to get anything done.

She didn't have anything against Xavier. That was another difference between her and Pyro. Pyro didn't like Xavier, and she didn't really get why. His school had saved Pyro's life, regardless of whether Pyro admitted it. Rachel thought Xavier's school was really good at being what it was meant to be: a school. It was a good place for mutant kids who didn't have any other place to go. It was a good place to figure out how your powers work. She understood what it was like to be a homeless thirteen year old mutant who barely knew how to control her power. She had been there a couple years ago. She was thankful Xavier's school helped her out. She had learned how to turn on and off her telepathy before then, but Xavier helped her unlock her full potential with it. She learned to look at memories, instead of simply what someone was thinking in the moment. She learned to look through minds to find specific pieces of information she was looking for. She would always be grateful for what Xavier did for her.

What she didn't understand was why he couldn't agree with Magneto. If Rachel had her way, Xavier and Magneto would be a team. Xavier would train young mutants and provide a safe place for mutant children who were too young and/or unprepared to fight, and then they could join Magneto's team to fight for mutant rights.

She understood why it would be hard for Xavier. It was hard for telepaths to fight against something. They tended to be too sympathetic. He could see that the average human meant well and was just swept up in the hysteria surrounding mutants. Every mind a telepath reads shows a human being, not so different from you. A human being with a family, a past, a future, people they love, people who love them. From that point of view, it was hard to consider killing someone you didn't need to kill.

Rachel agreed with that point. She couldn't imagine killing someone without a good reason. The difference with Rachel was that she thought Magneto only killed those he needed to kill. Innocents getting caught in the crossfire was a necessary price to pay. She didn't relish the idea of innocents getting caught in the crossfire, but she thought it would be necessary. If they lived in a perfect world, Xavier's method of nonviolence would work. Well, if the world were _perfect_, there wouldn't even be an issue. People would see mutants as exactly what they were: slightly advanced people. Nothing more, nothing less. But if the world were better (still not perfect, but better) they wouldn't need to use violence. _Homo sapiens_ might have their prejudices, but Xavier's method of nonviolence would work. But these weren't times when nonviolence was the answer. This was the time to get something done. Rachel wanted to protect her fellow mutants. She knew something bad would happen to mutants. There was already so much hatred against mutants. All it would take was a leader, a president or even a senator, to do some serious damage to mutants.

Rachel thought you had to be in serious denial to not see it. Every mutant she had met had some experience with anti-mutant hate. Not everyone had been kicked out of school or harassed by their town like she had, but there were also worse stories. At least her family still loved her. Not all mutants had that luxury. And that was something she couldn't sit idly by and allow to be a reality. You shouldn't have to wonder if your family would still love you if they knew you're a mutant. Kids shouldn't have to worry about whether or not they'll be abused, kicked out, or possibly even killed (it had happened to mutant children before) because of a mutation. The type of world Rachel wanted was one where everyone reacted the way her sister had: feeling happy for you if you told them you're a mutant. The world wasn't going to get that way overnight. She knew that. But it would never get that way if mutants didn't do something about it.


	7. Save Her

Pyro walked back into his room where Rachel was waiting for him. He had a weird look on his face

"What'd he say?"

"I thought you said he didn't like talking about the camps."

"He doesn't."

"Well, he just did. A lot. He was detailed. He said I needed to understand. Was he telling the truth? He was tortured for being a mutant?"

Rachel was shocked. She had sensed Erik's discomfort at even the most vague mentions of the camps. He had just told her how much pain those memories still caused him, and how he didn't like telling people about those memories for fear of seeming weak. She wondered why he had described the details of what he went through to Pyro.

As far as Pyro's question, Rachel didn't know how to answer. It was true to an extent. Erik had been selected for torture because of his show of power at the gates. But it wasn't discrimination against mutants. Klaus Schmidt, the madman responsible for Erik's torture, had himself been a mutant. Schmidt had chosen Erik to learn about his own mutation. He hadn't told Erik that. Erik hadn't even known his tormentor was a mutant until years later. Of course, it didn't matter to Rachel whether the man was a mutant. No one had the right to harm any child like that. Erik hadn't technically lied in telling Pyro he was tortured for being a mutant, and Rachel trusted there was a good reason Erik had phrased what he said that way. She decided to confirm it without clarifying the truth.

"Yeah. He was."

"Ugh. Why can't Xavier and people back at school see? People have hated mutants even before they knew how many of us there were. Even before they knew why some people had powers they hated us. They were scared. Stupid. Anyway, I don't know how Magneto survived that."

"He told you what they did to him?"

"Yeah. I wasn't really paying attention. I mean, it wasn't that I didn't care. I just didn't want to hear about all that. I mean, I did just eat breakfast. Seriously, I could barely listen to what he was saying, and he had to live through it. I don't know how he did that."

"He was strong."

"You can say that again."

"Well, does Magneto have any tasks for us today?"

"No. He said we're still waiting for word on that alleged cure thing."

"Alright. Well, if I'm not needed, I think I'm going to go back to my room."

"Alright."

Rachel went back to her room feeling as though she now understood what Erik meant by turning his greatest weakness into his strength. Instead of feeling pity for him, Pyro was impressed by Erik. Rachel was too, but for a different reason. Of course, she agreed that it was impressive that a young boy could survive such terrible things, but that's not what impressed her the most. Magneto had learned how to tell his story in such a way that it impacted each person the way he intended it to. He had paid enough attention to who Pyro was and responded accordingly. Not only did he shape the story to be about their mutant cause, he got Pyro to be impressed by his strength rather than pity his weakness. Rachel was a telepath, but Erik seemed to have better powers of persuasion than her. Now she understood why Erik felt comfortable using such horrible things to his own advantage: it worked. Granted, Pyro was already on their team, but Erik had now sealed the deal.

Rachel didn't pick up on the fact that Magneto had done the same to her. Being a telepath had many advantages, but there were some weaknesses associated with it too. She recognized that she could be too compassionate and felt things too deeply because she had been in other people's minds. But there was a flaw that Magneto had recognized before she did: over-confidence. She forgot that she too was vulnerable to being manipulated. She forgot that just because she could read people's minds didn't mean she knew everything about them. She only knew what she chose to see, and she sometimes forgot that this didn't necessarily give her the full picture. Xavier had tried to warn her many times not to let herself fall into this trap, but she hadn't understood what he meant.

She hadn't known that he had learned from experience. He had been too quick to trust Erik. He had believed he would be smart enough to keep Erik from acting on the darker sides of his mind. He had lost the use of his legs for believing in Erik too much. He hadn't wanted to tell her all that. He hadn't really told any of the children that he and Erik were friends. He hadn't thought it would be necessary. He had underestimated Erik's abilities as a salesman. He had underestimated how easy it would be for Erik to lure his pupils.

After Rachel left the school, Xavier had become completely preoccupied with finding her again. He knew what a dangerous path she was going down. He was worried for her. It had taken him getting paralyzed to get over his hubris of thinking he could handle Erik. He didn't want Rachel to be hurt. And that was even if she figured out Erik's plans were evil. What he truly feared was her never realizing she had been duped. He knew he had to save her. Not so much from Erik, but from herself.


End file.
